


If you're going, I'm going

by YooptheYotewe



Category: One Piece
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Attempt at Humor, Boys In Love, Caring Roronoa Zoro, F/F, Found Family, Humor, Idiots, Idiots in Love, Luffy Being Luffy, M/M, Maybe a little angst, Pirates, Relatively Canon Compliant, Secret Relationship, Zoro is Choppers dad, also hey i googled it does nami not have a last name??????, and they r all coping, as a treat, chronic idiots, comedy?, everyone loves eachother very much, franky and brook come later, hhhhhhhnambi, i havent met them yet, ill update this when i want, its not even a secret they are just idiots surrounded by idiots and i love them, lets fix that, my b ig, nami is the only one who knows that the boys are dating everyone else is an idiot, no beta we die like men, robin is the woman of my dreams hubba hubba AWOOOOGA, sanji is a simp, thank you goodnight, they all have their own problems, they are so fucking stupid, why arent there more tag for chronic idiots, zoro walked so himbos could run
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23656105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YooptheYotewe/pseuds/YooptheYotewe
Summary: Before they ever even realized it, they were in over their heads.But they will be damned if they would have it any other way.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro, Nami/Nefertari Vivi
Comments: 14
Kudos: 80





	1. and i wished to be so brave.

**Author's Note:**

> I am currently watching One Piece with my SO (skypeia arc rn, halfway through it) and i have thoughts which I want to share! I love these idiots so much, and all I want is to write about them! Bear with me, but I hope you can enjoy my take on things. 
> 
> There is also the onrunning joke between me and said SO (their idea, i just love it a lot) that luffy and zoro were married quite early and nobody knows (not because its secret, just because everyone is too clueless to actually realize - save nami who is hogging the one braincell on the merry smh), I will be referencing that quite, quite often!
> 
> Also louie if u see this then thank u for showing me these dumbasses because holy shit i fucking love this show damnnn
> 
> I will be doing my absolutely best to be as in character as possible, I apologize if anything is off!!!

If one tried hard enough, they could probably get drunk off the sun-touched salt which stained the ocean air. It was that kind of day, a swollen sun cracked open in the sky like an egg yolk, glistening against the ever moving sea. It was peaceful, the lapping of gentle waves and the rush of a slight breeze holding onto the small, sorry looking boat. Of course, the boat itself rocked in the mother seas embrace, the only speck for miles in the great blue expanse. There was no sound at all, only nature itself easing through itself in some sort of cycle which could only be described by inhuman brevity..., well - there was almost no sound. Among that serenade of singing waters and gulls, two voices huddled in the crooks of the boat, casually switching from offensive jabbing to idle conversation. The two of them were opposite of each other, the swordsman's legs stretched across the length of the boat, the captains cross folded. For two who had just recently met, already they were throwing conversation back and forth like a particularly long and incredibly idiotic tennis rally.   
  


"Hey, what're you thankin' me for?" Zoro cocked his head, a brow raised. He was the type of person who had to deliberately move their face to make emotion, otherwise having features that always resembled a scowl. His face was practically made for it, a wide, chapped mouth that always had a corner turned, sitting right under blase eyes. Quite the stark opposite to the captain Monkey D. Luffy. That one had a face that could be better described as squat, still youthful in some ways despite the fact that he was 17 (as young as that was, still), his friend only two years ahead of him. You could only ever imagine him smiling, or an attempt at thoughtful - but that was just how he was, his face moving with each emotion, animated as he talked. The two were so similar, yet at the same time seemed polar opposites. "I just grabbed your hat."  
  
"Oh, you know," Luffy laughed, making Zoro quite sure that he did not, in fact, know. "This hat is really, really important to me!". Zoro couldn't help but smile, closing his eyes.  
  
"Alright then, captain."  
  
It was after that that they finally lapsed into silence, Zoro with his arms hanging around the side of the boat - practically golden in the gaze of the fat sun, and Luffy watching. The thought crossed his head that this had to be the most intriguing person he ever met. He wanted to pry more, to talk and prod and touch - after all he had been raised as a touchy person. That was another thing that they didn't seem to have in common, after only a few interactions Luffy had quickly learned that Zoro was not used to any sort of lounging or physical interaction that wasn't an incentive to fight. In Luffys words however, it was 'whatever'.   
  
Thinking harder, a simple frown began to grow on Luffys face, as if thinking was an arduous process that required a good deal of work. Zoro only just picked up on the pregnant pause, not even bothering to pull his head up - instead simply drinking up the warmth and ignoring his stomach which was starting to nag just as much as Luffy. The facts remained simple enough to say that Luffy was enamored with a straight to the point swordsman, who was just as interested in him - although the fact staying an elephant in the room. Perhaps it was simply that they both were trying to let things happen as time needed, but Luffy was not the sort to be patient, or ignore his gut instinct.  
  
Fate is a fickle thing, and although most moon kissed dreamers sing of love at first sight, often it simply starts as a little flicker. Some people are connected, just as dead foliage are connected to the towering forests. But once the sun lights a single leaf, it is a fast growing fire. In the same way, perhaps it was the sun that first lit that spark. They were so alike, and so, very different at the same time, but the agreement was that they would both aid eachothers dreams - that said more than any half hashed ramble of a poet. Often times, the layout of fate is questionable and transparent, critically unfair and often unruly, but the one constant is that it is always just _right_. Luffy and Zoro were both undeniably new to eachother, but already there was a layer of trust held in another. It was a trust that would only grow with time, much like all things, but trust nonetheless. That trust was what pushed everything forward, emitting litanies although only a few brief moments upon a wayward boat.  
  
"Hey, Zoro."   
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I've decided that I really like you." It was a bold statement, but nothing about it sounded malicious. If anything, it was incredibly blunt, although sweet in Luffys own way. Zoro looked up regardless, both taken aback and oddly interested.  
  
"I like you too," He let himself grin at that, some things were just so simple - it was nice, and it was right.  
  
There was a pause then, the ocean speaking for them as a combing wind pushed them further into a waiting world. What they were referring to was almost unclear, although to them it seemed to make perfect sense. Perhaps it was simply the language of fools, so easy that it became complicated all at once, just another paradox in a relationship that seemed to be built on pure happenstance and dumb luck. Neither of them were lying though, they weren't in love per say, but they seemed to grasp the tender idea that they would like to be in love..., and more importantly, were capable and interested in being in love.   
  
"What do we do now?"   
  
Zoro thought, once again silence came to the boat and both of them became acutely aware of the situation. Even then, the most they could do was ignore the feeling that was like a coiled snake in their gut, and hide behind red ears.   
  
The hilarity of the situation, however, burst after what felt like a tantalizingly long wait. Not due to irony, nor sheer embarrassment. It is what the poets like to call: idiocy.   
  
"Don't people get married after they say that?" The way he said it was as if it made perfect sense, Luffy thought quite suddenly that Zoro was a genius.   
  
"Oh yeah," He slid back into his comfortable, toothy smile with a long, hearty laugh, that while better described as a cackle, was oddly contagious - earning a twitching mouth from the swordsman himself. The most incredibly thing was that they both seemed to find the situation perfectly normal, and were content with the way they had arranged things. "I guess we're married!".  
  
"Alright! We are going to celebrate then!" Luffy kept talking, having moved to Zoro's side of the boat, deciding to sit beside him instead of across. Zoro shifted for him, only grumbling slightly. It was that dumb charisma that acted like a baited fish hook, the wide, wide eyes that looked so real and so _alive,_ how expressive he was. It was addicting to watch him, let alone listen. "People usually do rings n' stuff, right Zoro?".  
  
"I ain't got rings if thats what you're askin'" Zoro pushed himself up to sit up straighter, before, having been slack against the side of the boat - but it was starting to grow uncomfortable. He had enough experience to know that back pain would only hinder his ability to fight later, although he wouldn't let it bother him regardless, he could still fight just fine. That was what he told himself anyway, being a fool.  
  
"Exactly!" The captain exclaimed, as if this proved a point when in reality it only created a tender moment of absolute confusion.  
  
"Well? What're you tryin' to say?" Zoro turned, only an ounce of curiosity weighing into sharp features "Use whatever random shit we got on us?".  
  
Luffy looked at Zoro like he had just solved the worlds greatest mystery, and Zoro couldn't help but rest his forehead against a well used, calloused palm. This guy was a total nutzo, an absolute buffoon, and god was it endearing.   
  
"Wow! You're smart, Zoro!" Luffy stood up quickly, rocking their little boat - this earned a protest from Zoro and a sharp swipe against his head. Regardless they settled down again, Luffy aware that he was being watched under a sharp eye. He fumbled, this time more careful to not knock both of them into the water - although he laughed while being scolded, such was the way of things. It was as if they had already formed a steady pace, ebbing and flowing at each other just as naturally as wind and rain.   
  
Zoro himself figured that it would be good to find something, after all, if he understood what was happening it would be that they were exchanging things. The entire situation was clumsy, and rushed - but he found no reason to have it any other way. There was a certain lack of definition, the certain promise of some gambit, that rightly dared them both to continue. It was that promise, that wordless affirmation that they both held, that proved more fate than any philosopher could ever begin to novel. In that same concise, yet esoteric epiphany, it could be said that it was perhaps even destiny.   
  
By the time that Zoro had found 1 beri, Luffy had extended a palm with a single, weird looking rock. Zoro couldnt help but frown, humored.  
  
"That's all you've got?" He asked, tossing his coin over to luffy with the flick of his thumb - who caught it, clutching the small, metal sliver between his fingers. Little known to either of them, Luffy would never spend that coin.   
  
Luffy decided to roll the red stone towards the swordsman, who picked it up between his thumb and pointer finger, before pocketing it just as carefully. A promise between men was not to be taken lightly, after all.   
  
"It looked cool." The statement was so blank and naive that Zoro laughed, long and hard - Luffy laughed too, as did the ocean and gulls along with them. Zoro couldn't help but think that it was oddly nice.  
  
"Man, Im hungry" Luffy pouted, a short while after they had sunk deep back into silence. "I know! Since we are celebrating, I'll get us some meat!". Celebrating, right, they had both decided that they were married, making them husbands. Luffy smiled, Zoro returned it.  
  
"Where're you gonna get that?".  
  
Luffy pointed up, towards a large bird. What dumb luck.  
  
"Ok, go get it, captain,".  
  
  
It was such a peaceful moment. Some say that the eye of a storm is the most peaceful place you can ever be in, others say that it was the start - rather. Either way, a story - much alike a storm, had begun. All the strings aligned, all the stages set - it was going to be a long day.


	2. and i held her in my arms.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a tender irritation, part of her welcomed the change of direction, her captain's love life wasn’t her business anyway. She only cared about one person’s love life and that was her own, and said ‘own’ was very preoccupied with the princess that was so close to practically sitting in her lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy dumb monkey idiot birthday (i love him)!!!!
> 
> Lmao anyway sorry abt that last chapter being short, it was one of the more rushed ones that I need to push through. As I see it, this fic as three parts:  
> \+ prologue (this and the first chapter)  
> \+ the ACTUAL story (i know! I cant believe i planned this out ghghghgjghdj basically its a little mini arc - like those fun filler arcs - that will jump ahead to where i need the story to be - after setting up what needs to be in the intro. There will be a fight and all that, but none of it is plot relevant tbh - think of it as a filler, or one of the movies if you will)  
> \+ the finale (we will burn that bridge when we get to it ;) )
> 
> Thats really all I have for you all, aside from the note to sleep well and drink water. I know these little addendums are not the most pleasant (and if you are like me, you dont read them at all and skip to the meat of the story), and quite honestly I try my best to be - at least a little - goofy towards the whole thing. Regardless, I just,,, rlly love this show, and these kids for crying out loud.
> 
> If you are wondering on my status of the show so far, I am almost done with Enies Lobby, and am currently very angry about the shape of Frankys chin. That is a face crime (I still love him a lot)

The way she saw it, this was entirely her fault.   
  
And when Nami thought that to herself, she meant it. Of course, the original goal of even bothering to aid a princess in a pinch was that glorious, romantic promise of money. Money in itself was a promise, just as food was to her glutton of a captain, perhaps it was a learned habit to desire it - but it was undeniable that the power that it held was more than alluring. Besides, money meant she could have what she wanted, and while Nami blanched at the idea of calling herself spoiled, that freedom was a treasure to her.   
  
She snapped back to attention just as soon as her thoughts drifted elsewhere, perhaps goaded by the eastern wind which danced across the tangerine trees, distracting her from the task at hand, the princess. Oh. That was right. The princess in question sat on the deck beneath them, leaning against the front of Nami’s chair, settled between her knees as Nami sat above with her tongue sticking out of her mouth, trying to remember a more complicated plait to put in Vivi’s hair. 

It wasn't exactly something that she had planned on, accumulating a small bushel of feelings towards a girl, let alone royal, who had no time for…,well, any of this really. But she had to admit, the worst of it was before Drum Island. It was- Nami couldn’t help but admit that it was embarrassing how quick it took both of them to grow close. Perhaps it was just two girls shepherded together by the unruly obliviousness of the idiots surrounding each other, or perhaps it was dumb luck. Luck seemed to be the specialty on the Merry anyway.

They had discussed the whole thing with each other in low, hushed voices, Nami already half delirious with whatever had been ailing her - deciding that if she was going to die she might as well swathe herself in an attempt to put a close on her witless crush (who also happened to be very beautiful, very rich, and so…, so, her). It was surprisingly hard to realize, let alone accept, that her hummed out confession was both reciprocated, and taken very seriously.   
  
Vivi was quick to explain, her feelings of newfound attraction both welcome and oddly unsettling - in the rush that they had met, it was small tender moments they shared which pressed against the weight on her shoulders. Nami knew that Vivi couldn’t sustain a budding relationship, considering the burden which she bore as if branded to her very skin. She thought to her tattoo, to her home, Nami could understand all too well the fear of causing death when it could have been saved. It would be hard for both of them, a pirate and a princess alone were both so unlikely and star-crossed, they had much more pressing concerns in the end of the day. 

Nami almost felt bad for asking then, it was selfish of her, she should have held back regardless of the pain of the moment.   
  
“Would you be willing to try anyway?” She had murmured to the girl, nonplussed in front of her, a challenge although spoken from trembling lips.

After that, Vivi told- no, commanded that the rest of the crew focused on finding a doctor. Even in the present, the guilt pressed against her ribs as if it threatened to seep into each bone till it could no longer protect her. Time was precious, and she was wasting it.    
  
She gave a sad sort of smile, looking down to her hands - more calloused than they had been in years, after learning to sweet talk her way out of danger. It was never spoken, but the bond between them was already sealed between secret kisses, that which sank into the very floorboards of the girls quarters from the weight, the promise that each peck held.    
  
Playing with Vivi’s hair had become a sort of ritual for them, it calmed Vivi down, and gave Nami time to think without her face spilling each little tell to the woman who she loved (the thought scared her, was she willing to die for Vivi? Emotions were fickle, when did self preservation stop? She wanted to be able to die for someone like her, almost as if it was a sort of elongated survivor's guilt whose ghost haunted her since childhood).

Vivi laughed at something, Nami looked up from the attempt at a tuck-in braid (sometimes she imagined what Vivi would have looked like with short hair, or hair like Bellemere, she was never amazed at how beautiful one woman could be). Chopper, Usopp, and their beloved, if not sometimes annoying, captain Luffy pranced about like children. It was different with the reindeer around, he seemed to encourage the idea of play, although he was already so mature. The crew wanted him to play, to laugh, to live with them as they had learned to live with eachother. It was endearing.   
  
“They are so full of energy, these days.” Nami mused, closing her eyes with a sigh, the slight hint of a smile tugging at her lips. If they even dared to come near her and Vivi, she would tax them hard enough to afford an entire new room just to herself. And Vivi. Always Vivi.    
  
“Hm?” Vivi turned her head slightly, in what Nami could only assume was a smile from behind “Oh no, I was referring to Mr. Bushido”.   
  
Nami looked up, having to look a bit until she could see him - leaning against the mast. He was attempting to sleep, but it was obvious he was watching his captain. If Nami wasn’t fooling herself, she would almost call it affection. The sort that was restrained, bittersweet and careful, the sort which she felt for Vivi before Drum Island. She snorted. Those idiots.   
  
“He seems to care very much about his captain,” Vivi mused “I hope it’s not unrequited”.   
  
“Oh, they’re married, you know,” Nami kept her voice low, mostly due to the fact that the last thing she wanted was Sanji butting in on their precious alone time. He was a good man, he just couldn’t pick up a hint if it went for a run on a hot day then sat on his face (or at least with women, was her hypothesis).    
  
Vivi, bless her, her and her soft face and golden-copper skin which practically seeped the sun, did a spit take. Nami couldn't blame her, although it was painfully obvious that the captain and first mate were…, closer than just that, the people surrounding them were such morons that the usual reaction was ‘wow, you guys must be good friends’. It made her laugh, it wasn't even ignorance, she had already tested that. It was pure, utter stupidity, and nothing more than that.   
  
“I beg your pardon?” Vivi turned to look at Nami once, then glanced at the swordsman who had promptly decided to sleep, or at least pretend to with all the noise that the crew was making.   
  
“They told me,” She decided to keep it as simple as possible, while she was distressed that their conversation had taken a turn towards the ship's more inane members (while she admittedly cared for them very much), Nami could never pass up the opportunity to gossip. After all, Nami grew up depending on the social jungle to succeed, it was second nature. “Apparently they had officiated the whole thing by trading whatever they happened to have on their pockets. Zoro needed a safe place for his part, he asked me to sew it into his haramaki”.   
  
Vivi nodded, thinking as Nami rambled exasperated at the ridiculousness that they had convinced themselves of.    
  
“I’m a bit confused, you sewed what into his clothes?”   
  
“I don’t know all the details,” Nami had a glint in her eye, leaning in as if it was a big reveal (it wasn’t, she just liked to be dramatic). “ But Luffy gave Zoro a stone for his…, ring, I guess? Ignoring how stupid it is to sew a rock into your clothes, they both seemed satisfied with it”. She left out the part where she charged Zoro for every three centimetres of thread she used. It was just good business.   
  
There was another silence, although short, it held weight. Through the strands of hair she combed through with her fingers, Nami could feel Vivi processing. At least she was taking it well.   
  
“Then why are they so…? -is he so…?”    
  
Nami decided to cut her off there. “It's because they are textbook idiots, well really- everyone on this damn ship is for not figuring it out, it’s very obvious. But to be fair, I have a theory.”   
  
“Which is?” Vivi was interested. This was good.   
  
“They ‘tied the knot’ before I joined them, which I am pretty sure is around the time that they first met, meaning it was probably a spur of the moment decision,” it was all a guess, but Nami wasn’t stupid “But now I think they are actually falling in love. Before they definitely cared about each other, but even Luffy…, you know.”   
  
She could practically hear Vivi’s brow raising. “Do I?”.

  
Nami let go of Vivi’s hair, pressing three fingers against her temples as if she was trying to magically sort out the right information and have it pirouette safely into Vivi’s brain.    
  
“I don't know, and to be honest I don't really care anyway- they are both just…, probably learning what love means”. Yeah right, they would die for eachother. Nami had seen how Zoro took a sword to the abdomen just to save Luffy, and that was Buggy-era. She had read more than her fair share of sappy novels on her adventures, this was not exactly ordinary, but it was painstakingly distinct. If she believed in fate, she would say that they were supposed to be together. Too bad that fate was probably a massive bitch.   
  
As if the cosmic force itself could hear Nami’s scathing remark, Sanji wailed out their names in a sing-song voice, rushing from the kitchen to sample some of his latest recipes. Nami wanted to pull out her hair right there, and maybe eat some of it for good measure. It was a tender irritation, part of her welcomed the change of direction, her captain's love life wasn’t her business anyway. She only cared about one person’s love life and that was her own, and said ‘own’ was very preoccupied with the princess that was so close to practically sitting in her lap.    


* * *

The night sky was theirs for the taking that night, and Vivi believed that if any god was listening, then they were pressing against her chest as if extra cpr, when she was already breathing, would make her more alive. 

Technically, they always had the girls quarters to themselves, but Nami was just as much a member of the crew as anyone else, even she understood it would be wrong if she didn’t keep watch some nights. 

Between clasped hands and quiet footsteps, Nami retrieved Vivi from their room (she needed little convincing,it was a laced promise, one that affirmed itself through gentle kisses along their trip to the deck. Ideally, Vivi wanted to make use of the deck while it was theirs, but that threw a wrench in the whole idea of ‘keeping a lookout’, one which would permanently damage Nami’s reputation. The princess could hardly complain, after all, she was busy fighting down a heart which ran like a bullet with every brush of skin.   
  
She let Nami climb up first, as she ran a hand across her hair, thinking that it would perhaps smooth down the ever present reminder that lit up in the back of her mind whenever she thought of Nami (she had a girlfriend). She figured that she would never be used to it, come whatever tides or wars, the little reminder was a post it note pinned to her very core, one which invoked emotions she wasn't ready to fathom. After all, she wasn’t supposed to be focused on this. It was a guilt she kept close to her chest, although having already put it in words before Nami (her girlfriend!), Vivi would not be capable of providing what Nami needed. Although sick, and even after, Nami seemed to disagree. It was a matter of hoping that maybe, if the fates were kind enough, she wouldn’t lose this as well. She had already sacrificed so much, and although she pushed herself past the mark to be altruistic, Vivi didn’t know how much she could supply.

It was what felt like eons ago, when there were only years to suffice (if only she didn’t feel as old as she did now, as if that carefree youth had stolen away in the night and replaced itself with lifetime's worth of worry). She could barely remember it, the exact words sinking away till it was only a memory. Her father always was the type to get sentimental. He was such a good man, Vivi was sure that he would have given her good advice. The memory itself was a sunny one (as was most in the lands of desert), she could remember lying on the floor of one of the many palace rooms and trying to count each dust mote as it danced in the sunlight, which painted itself from the windows in broad strokes. It was a stuffy room, she couldn’t quite remember why they never opened the windows.

He had said something along the lines of a poem that night, at least that's how it felt. Her ears were young, while she fell upon many freedoms, Vivi was still schooled like a princess - things such as literary practices were like second nature (she always forgot about them anyway, casting lessons away as soon as she left the palace in search of Koza). 

She could still recall the gist of the lesson. Never be afraid to love. What was it in Nami's voice (her now girlfriend's voice), sequestered away in the privacy of the room, that reminded her of that day? After all, Nami was sick, perhaps even in danger of dying, yet she wanted to try for a relationship. Vivi knew what she had to do then, but now? Now she was afraid. Afraid to lose Nami (her girlfriend), but afraid to lose her country. Vivi was not stupid, she knew she couldnt have both.   
  
“Everything alright, Vivi?” Nami called down, the wind pushing her hair across her face. Vivi could look at her forever like that, half hanging off the ladder, gentle breeze stirring her just enough to create a figure which could only be described as pirate-like. She was beautiful, Vivi wanted to yell, it was a helpless sort of feeling. As if her heart decided to be made for a bigger body, and her brain short circuited with the command ‘freak out’. That was affection, she decided. Frustrating, beautiful affection.    
  
“Yeah!” she called back in a half yell. They were, supposedly, the only ones awake, but somehow there was still the fear that she would wake someone. Vivi was very sure that she wouldn't be the only one to grow angry if they were interrupted. She couldn’t help but wonder if anyone else on the crew even knew about their relationship. Maybe they were as oblivious as Nami said, they were much more secretive than the captain and first mate - the two were hardly hiding it, if they were even trying. 

Shaking her head, Vivi followed Nami (who was her girlfriend, she would never forget) up to the cup of a nest which made their lookout. 

“Were you thinking about Alabasta?” Nami’s question was sudden, it surprised her.   
  


“What?”

“You looked worried,” Then Nami smiled, and Vivi thought she was going to die right then and there, following the navigator's suit and sitting opposite of her. “I don't want to assume though! I just thought-”   
  
Vivi gave her a tender look, telling herself more than anyone else “If I was sad every time I thought of Alabasta, I wouldn’t be a very good princess.”   
  
Instead of laughing, Nami looked like she was parsing thoughts - was what she said rude? Vivi couldn't help but worry, but something about the silence must have signaled Nami just as clouds signaled the rain. Just as she opened her mouth, Nami interjected. “What is it like?”.   
  
“Alabasta?” Vivi started, blinking at Nami’s (her girlfriend!) almost shy glance. Vivi wanted to punch something, more tempted than not to cup Namis olive cheeks in her hands, and brush a gentle finger over each and every corner of her girlfriend's face until she knew it by heart. She was so pretty, Vivi thought she might die.    
  
The silence acted as a response, filling in lieu of an answer.

“It was …,” it was never something she had attempted to put into words before. It was always just a memory. She amended herself “It is…, beautiful. I’d say I never really realized that until I left though.”   
  
Nami nodded like she understood, Vivi didn’t question it - she was a pirate after all, while Vivi didn’t pry. She knew at least a little about the woman's life pre-Luffy. To be fair, everyone's life changed after Luffy, it was almost always safe to assume. He was like a brisk east-wind, promising healthy weather and change. He was a special person, one who could bring about new tides just with that signature dumb grin.

“I had many close friends, and I think I was more free there as a princess than I was as a normal woman…, that's a bit silly though, isn't it?” Vivi chuckled to herself. “Even if I had to take frivolous lessons”.   
  
Nami laughed at that, which struck Vivi’s heart like a loud, dancers drum, reverberating through each bone within her body.    
  
“What sort of princess lessons could possibly be worse than going undercover for years?” Nami’s voice had that precious sharp cut to it (it wasn’t meant in a cruel way), her voice was strong and constant in inflections where Vivi’s was much more tender, raising up and down with each turn of a word. Each straw hat had a rather brash way of speaking, Vivi didn’t know if they had learned it from each other (where tepid or naive in inclination) or if they all had it in common, but it was endearing. Even the new doctor had a certain childish quality to his gab (although she was fairly sure that he was still a child).

“Oh, history, economics…, manners” they both share a look at that last one, then guffawed together, quickly attempting to hush each other through warm, hurried breaths of contentment.

It was true. They were annoying, but even her father had Vivi learn the basics of etiquette and other noble arts that were deemed appropriate, it was another gift along with that of freedom - but it served no purpose during those years of secrecy (for that, she was thankful that her father let her run wild. She wouldn’t have survived otherwise. She also had Igarams help - the memory was a weight against her chest, one which she admittedly relied on Nami to forget about).   
  
Her father insisted that she had to at least know what was “expected” of a princess, although Vivi was relatively certain he was just as enthused about it as she was. Alabasta didn’t have many balls, but when such events were held - they were often open to the public. That didn’t make them any less formal. It was beautiful nonetheless, Alubarnas jewel of a palace aglow with lights and voices - music drifting from the hallways conjoined with the ballroom. If they weren’t in a national crisis, and if Nami wasn’t a woman of the sea - taking her to a ball would have been a dream.

Vivi had an idea.

She stood up suddenly, earning her a curious, albeit amused look from her girlfriend. It was definitely not a ballroom, all they had was the confined legroom of the crows nest. There were no formal Alabastan gowns on the going merry- but she could remember her favourite; an almost silver, long shift which slid across her things - embossed with intricate, blue filigree, and held snug to her body by sheer, soft wraps. It was a beautiful memory, but the only thing she could linger on was how it would look on Nami.

“Do you know how to dance in Alabasta?” Vivi asked, extending a hand to Nami, who was already catching on to what was being implied…, hopefully, anyway.

Nami’s smile twisted against her face, perking in the corners against freckled cheeks to create little dimples. “I don’t know many traditions from the grand line, you may have to school me, princess.”

  
Vivi hummed a laugh, pulling Nami up into her arms and holding her there for a moment - hesitating until the navigator's body language indicated that she could continue slinking her arms around her waist, and mold her ever so slightly into a position.    
  
“Of course, there are quite a few types of dance if I’m being honest, but there was one kind in particular we did at balls”   
  
“Think you can even remember it, Miss Wednesday?” Nami was teasing her.   
  
“Shut up!” Vivi laughed, pushing mock-pouting Nami away, who was fighting off her own grin.   
  
She was right though, Vivi had to stop and try to remember the exact song she used to practice to. Igaram played it too, it was a gorgeous, although simple, melody - a string of a few bars that guided the steps through beats. Once he tried singing it. It sounded awful.   
  
Moving back to Nami, nervously - tenderly spreading her hands into Namis, she began to direct their footsteps into conjoined hops and steps, giggling when the wood creaked beneath them. It was an alive dance, but it was something serene that put such a look of concentration on Nami’s face that Vivi felt that she was going to tear her lungs out of her chest and eat them right there.    
  
She was sure. What of? Well, maybe she wasn’t so sure of that. Vivi was afraid, and Vivi was grieving, but Vivi was also more alive than she had ever been. Some day, she would stop feeling guilty for being so in love.   


* * *

For the first time, Vivi played with Nami’s hair. Now that they were safe in the palace, there was the benefit of having time alone where before it was limited to the nights in the girls quarters.

Vivi had a long and complicated process, one which Nami would have made fun of - but it was nice, special, like she was being pampered. She would often go on about the importance of a lady taking care of how she looked, especially when buying clothes. But the intimacy of this, Vivi’s slender fingers separating the short, orange tresses and plaiting them in thirds - the slight tug on her scalp, and the smell of soap and oils pressed into her hair. Nami could so easily let this become her, let the tender brushing of Vivi’s long nightgown sleeves that gathered at the cuffs become her very essence, the being of Nami. 

There was something precise to the way she moved her fingers, if Nami wasn’t facing away - staring off into the shafts of blue light which painted themselves across Vivis bedroom from the long windows, she would be entranced. Vivi’s hands were beautiful. Vivi was beautiful.   
  
The thought saddened her. It shouldn’t have, but it did. From where she was looking at it, that feverish night so long ago felt like a child's promise, one which had blossomed into an invisible cloth which bound them together. There were so many condolences, for what was being lost, that she could have issued, but Nami was selfish. All she could think of was what she was losing.   
  
“I know you can’t come with me.” Nami wielded a hardened voice, one that had been smithed like Zoro’s swords in an attempt to be marble-hearted. Vivi did not need a wavering voice.   
  


Nami could feel the hands still against her head, fingernails combing against her hair as Vivi protested. “What?”.   
  
“They’re gonna ask you to come with, you know,” It was matter of fact, because Nami knew it just as well as the rest of the crew “you shouldn’t”.

It hurt to say, the words hindering her breath for a moment as if stolen from her lungs, beaten against a tree like a dirty rug in the summer. She hated this. She hated saying this. Nami sunk backwards, rationality was disgustingly cruel - but she was the only strawhat who had any.

They sat like that for gilded few moments, marinating in thoughts that were so loud that the silence was turned deafening - as if a dagger which was punctured through both of them from their position; Nami slouching, cross legged, at Vivi’s feet.

She almost wanted to curse herself for being so poetic, it was like a curse that she was so aware of herself - well-nigh approaching her thoughts from an outsider's perspective. That was always how Nami functioned. Even as a child, she had to think like a grown up, avoid her own feelings and assess each thought - because even one fuck up and she could be ruined. It was as if Nami was afraid that she would be the cause of her own ruin. Because, at the end of it, she was, wasn’t she?

When a wet sob cracked like silent thunder, Nami felt a weight drop onto her face - turning slowly to see Vivi shuddering into stillness. Her blue hair was down, dropping down her neck and framing her face which looked almost pale - a sight against her warm, sun drunk skin.    
  
Nami breathed out, loud and understanding as she leaned forward on her knees, slithering her arms around Vivi’s waist to pull her close with her back against the floor, cradling her with Nami’s neck tucked into a shoulder, nose pressed into soft blue locks.    
  
“I’ll write,” Nami would not cry, she would not let herself cry - she couldn’t do that to Vivi. All these years she had turned those tears into wills, she wouldn’t do that to Vivi. 

Nami had crushes before, she had seen the drawings of beautiful women andhad more than just thoughts of “i wish that were me”, she had even briskly had relations with a village girl back when she was 15. There was a difference, though, between those hurried kisses behind a bar and this - this was heavy like a promise. Nami never wanted to let go.

  
“I promise.”   


* * *

The night that everything finally seemed still, after all the chaos, was the worst of them. They had managed to scrape out of the Marines grasp yet again. Nami had taken a bath, then, and felt hollow when the ‘X’ on her arm finally faded away. She had faced down the keen edge of losing everything before, in fact - nobody's life was on the line, Nami had seen more awful things. It was like a bruise, aching after each press against it. It was more than that, it was like one of Sanji’s stupid goddamn poems.    
  
Nami needed space. The women's quarters was too much space, though, empty now.

What was worse, was that Zoro was on guard that night.   
  
She had hoped he would be shirking his duties and sleeping, but was heavily disappointed when he moved like a cat from the crows nest and sunk down to sit next to her - on that perch where she and Vivi had sat all those days ago. It felt like years.   
  
He had heard her, choking out muffled cries into the inside of her arm, she knew he had. But he didn’t say anything.   
  


“Don’t feel sorry for me,” she sniffled, attempting to sound callous.

  
Zoro looked at her with that same, blase expression he always sported - mouth set firm and thin lips pressed together, jaw tight in a way that she could never understand what he was thinking. But the eye contact didn’t last.   
  
“We should have kidnapped her then.”   
  
Nami laughed. And then she cried. Zoro was not the type for comfort, but the moment shared between them on that night was something she would never forget - he was her nakama, they were not friends nor family, but something so much more. It was unspoken, as if a bond over knowing who each other belonged to - Nami to Vivi, and Zoro to their captain. So it wasn’t weird when she spilled herself out into the night. After all, Zoro was just keeping watch.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hghghgskfhdsfk if u,,,, r interested,,,, feel free to join the OP discord i made with my SO  
> Talk to me about one piece! please! I need human interaction!   
> Discord: https://discord.gg/cAcRUuv
> 
> my insta is yooptheyot and my art tumblr + twitter is yooptheyotewe if you are interested perchance :DD
> 
> eat ur lunch and cause some trouble today!!!!


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